by Focus
© 2000 Focus, all rights reserved
When he was a young man, my Grandpa Burke moved from Tennessee to California, where he remained the rest of his life. He lived in California for over sixty years, worked here, met his wife, raised his family, and died here... but he never forgot Tennessee. One of his favorite memories was Tennessee thunderstorms. California doesn't have thunderstorms like Tennessee does. I know because Grandpa told me.
When you are playing in the Tennessee woods, on a sultry summer day, you have little warning of an upcoming storm. Your first warning is a dampening of the light. You look up, and see towering black clouds rising over the tops of the trees.
As soon as you see those clouds, you know you'd better start running for shelter. And don't park yourself underneath a tree, either... because there is lightning with Tennessee thunderstorms, and the tree you are under may draw that lightning. Run - don't walk - for shelter!
There is a sudden stillness to the air, and then a strong breeze begins to whip through the leaves. By the time you reach the edge of the woods, the breeze has turned into a wind, and the sky is dark, like dusk. The air gets an electric taste to it, and the raindrops start to fall. Not wee timid California raindrops, Grandpa said, but big heavy Tennessee raindrops. At first just a few - but if you aren't in shelter by now, you know you will be drenched. Because suddenly there is a flash and a crash! In no time at all water is pouring out of that black sky.
The rain pours down, an inch or more of rain in a single hour. Puddles cover the earth. The rain falls so hard that it splashes when it hits. With the lightning, and the thunder, and the beating of rain upon the roof, a person can hardly hear a conversation. The children lean against the window sills and look out at the storm. You have to close the windows on the side of the house that the wind blows against, to keep the carpets dry.
But soon, with no notice, the storm is over. The clouds blow out of sight. The thunder is nothing but a muted rumble in the distance. The sky is blue again, the air is warm, and steam rises from the puddles. By the time you get your boots on, the water is sinking into the ground and being sucked up into the vegetation. The air smells fresh. The world is sparkling clean.
And the thunderstorm is gone until the next afternoon.